Author

NBA Draft Spotlight: D’Marcus Simonds

D’Marcus Simonds is looking to guide Georiga State to an upset after putting on a show in last year’s NCAA Tournament. He has struggled with consistency with his shot, but his overall game has league potential. An invite to the combine could do wonders for Simonds.

Position: PG

From: Georgia State

Class/YOB: Junior

Height: 6’3

Weight: 195

Wingspan: N/A

Strengths:

Wired scorer. Hunts out scoring chances off the dribble. Gets going by putting the ball in the whole

Creative 1-on-1 scorer. Has a knack for breaking down defenders and opening up room to get a shot. Has quick pull-up off the bounce

Seeks and absorbs body contact in the lane. Plays with toughness when penetrating, using his body to avoid shot blockers. Completes double clutch layups and difficult floaters on the regular

Competes defensively and should be a plus ball-hawk. Instinctively, he knows how to disrupt offenses. Has to continue to guard all the time. One of the better shot blocking guards in college basketball. Finishes plays with defensive rebounds, despite size deficiencies

Plus athlete with desired strength as a scoring guard. Does a lot of damage around the rim as a result. Posts up fairly well for a guard too

Weaknesses:

Three-point shooting has left a lot to be desired. Shot selection is part of it. But he has shot under 30% each of the last two seasons. Will need to be able to hit threes to thrive in the NBA

Very loose with the ball, both as a ball-handler and passer. He has decent vision that is often missed by trying to do too much

Has work to do in pick-and-rolls. His usage is through the roof, but most of it occurs in isolation situations and transition. When he does get a ball-screen, it’s normally so he can attack a switch. When defenders take away his initial moves, he can’t settle for those pull-ups. Distributing in the P&R needs work

He’s a good athlete, even better than he may appear sometimes. Still does not have a lightning quick first step

Free throw shooting has to vastly improve. He can’t be both a below average three shooter and foul shooter with his score-first play style